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Penn State mounts broad attack on opioid addiction in Pennsylvania

January 11, 2019

A startling 13 to 16 people die each day in Pennsylvania due to opioid overdose, among the more than 70,000 Americans who succumbed to the epidemic in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That gives Pennsylvania the dubious distinction of being ranked near the top of opioid-related death rates in the U.S.

“Alcoholism is still the most common substance use disorder, but it has been eclipsed by the opioid crisis because people are dying,” said Dr. Sarah Kawasaki, medical director of the Advancement and Recovery opioid addiction treatment program at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute. “It’s killing people in the prime of their lives. Children are without parents. The number of deaths is what makes this epidemic so important.”

That’s why the clinicians, researchers and administrators with Penn State Health and Penn State College of Medicine have united to fight the opioid crisis. Their weapons are evidence-based clinical treatment, research and education, and they are aiming at every phase of the problem ― from pre-addiction through treatment and recovery.

“We feel a sense of urgency. Opioid use disorder is a multifaceted issue that needs to be addressed at every single level,” said Sue Grigson, director of the Penn State Addiction Center for Translation based on the College of Medicine’s Hershey campus. “Fortunately, we have the right individuals and expertise to do that, and we’re using grants as vehicles to help us.”

The grants include a $1.5 million clinical grant, awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in November to, in part, help fund Project ECHO–an effort to enable doctors in widespread Pennsylvania counties to connect with experts in opioid addiction. Via teleconferencing, they have access to education and assistance with difficult cases.

Grigson also expects to hear this month whether the center will receive two additional grants totaling more than $100 million, which would expand referral services, educational outreach, translational research, screening and prevention projects, and new treatment methods. Founded just over a year ago, the center has wasted no time building a broad plan of attack.

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